Calliope
Swimming along through the Spiral Marketplace was one of Calliope's favorite things to do. The place was filled with wares of all different types, from fresh foods to beautiful clothing to antique furniture, and, most intriguingly, items from far-off places. Calliope enjoyed chatting with the merchants there about their travels as she browsed; this also had the added benefit of making it easier to negotiate discounts.
At the moment, Calliope was looking at a stall with a number of decorative tabletop items, a bit of jewelry, and other miscellaneous trinkets. Currently, she was inspecting a lovely silver hand mirror with flowing lines framing the reflective surface and similar designs embossed in the handle. She admired herself in it for a moment, flashing a smile, fixing her hair, and decided she liked the way the silver color, though not very practical in seawater, looked when matched with her skin tone. It did have a scratch on the back face, unfortunately.
When she asked how much the vendor was selling it for, they answered with a number so ridiculous she had to ask them to repeat it. With an incredulous look, Calliope pointed out the scratch and the fact that the silver was already degraded due to exposure to seawater. However, the vendor did not budge, not even a little bit. Calliope, frustrated, simply asked why not, and the vendor answered something dissatisfying to her, which was followed by another impatient questioning from Calliope. They went back and forth in this way until the argument became so heated that others were starting to take notice, though Calliope didn't care. This merchant clearly was trying to steal from her? How could they not see that?
At the moment, Calliope was looking at a stall with a number of decorative tabletop items, a bit of jewelry, and other miscellaneous trinkets. Currently, she was inspecting a lovely silver hand mirror with flowing lines framing the reflective surface and similar designs embossed in the handle. She admired herself in it for a moment, flashing a smile, fixing her hair, and decided she liked the way the silver color, though not very practical in seawater, looked when matched with her skin tone. It did have a scratch on the back face, unfortunately.
When she asked how much the vendor was selling it for, they answered with a number so ridiculous she had to ask them to repeat it. With an incredulous look, Calliope pointed out the scratch and the fact that the silver was already degraded due to exposure to seawater. However, the vendor did not budge, not even a little bit. Calliope, frustrated, simply asked why not, and the vendor answered something dissatisfying to her, which was followed by another impatient questioning from Calliope. They went back and forth in this way until the argument became so heated that others were starting to take notice, though Calliope didn't care. This merchant clearly was trying to steal from her? How could they not see that?
now's the time to be alive, to stay awake and be with me a while, and smile
